Obliviousness Doesn't Always Pay Off
by NeoNails
Summary: 6th in NEO storyline. Kitty's done it again. She's dragged Rogue to yet another idiotic school dance. Valentine's Day, no less. Then, she has the nerve to drop one of the biggest bombs, too. So, what's a girl to do? Well, get the information first hand.
1. Obliviousness Doesn't Always Pay Off

**Explanation:** Oh, God. It seems like, no matter how hard I may try, I have to go back to my XME fanfiction. It's like an addiction, I tell you. But there IS a reason behind this, stemming from a very embarrassing conversation I had recently with a friend of mine about a guy I used to have a crush on. Afterwards, I thought, what would happen if Rogue had to experience this as I did?

**Summary:** Part one of two. Rogue talks to Scott after being dragged to the school's Valentine's Day dance, shortly followed by a revealing conversation with Kitty. She makes a decision that could very well affect her relationships from there on.

**Rating:** What it always is. T. God, I thought you guys knew me.

**Disclaimer:** Alright, this has been done so many times it's no longer funny. I mean, it's not like anyone actually _reads_ this section, right?

…

The female known as '_NeoNails_' does not own any characters, places, or objects that may be mentioned in this short prose known as '_fanfiction_'. She apologizes to the writers, owners, and actors of the aforementioned television show for writing her own literary account of how she believed certain events should have taken place. But it's not her fault. You guys just don't know how to write a proper kids' TV show.

$4$

**Obliviousness Doesn't Always Pay Off**

Ever since Rogue's… "incident" involving Risty/Mystique, she had avoided all sorts social gatherings, especially the school dances. Until, that is, Kitty got fed up and decided to kidnap Rogue and hold her hostage in the living hell that was the Bayville High School homecoming dance. Well, that's how she was going to tell it, anyway.

No matter the reason, she was still stuck in her school's dolled up gymnasium. Worse still was the occasion. _Valentine's Day_. Whatever idiot who had thought up the over-celebrated excuse for eating too much candy, partying 'til dawn, and finally snagging that guy-next-door, deserved eternal damnation. Who cared whether or not the holiday was originally devoted to a former saint? Then again, she needed all the heavenly help she got.

Why? Mainly, because of a certain graduate who decided to volunteer some of his valuable time to chaperoning her high school dance. Scott Summers, the resident Boy Scout and leader of the X-men, Rogue's only 'after-school' activity. Unbeknownst to him and a majority of her teammates, she had once had a crush on him, back when he was junior and she only a sophomore.(1) Thank God, that had passed. No longer would she have to worry about looking nice or how she would measure up to Jean (2), and was back to her normal self. It was so much easier when you could have a normal conversation with someone without worrying about how you looked to the other person.

So, as she visited the snack table for what was at least the eighth time in an hour, she wasn't concerned in the least when the man in question wandered up next to her. She was in the process of putting a heart-shaped cookie and matching pink, iced, heart-shaped cupcake when he murmured, "Hungry?"

Only half of her mouth curved into a smile, and she leaned closer to Scott, whispering, "More lahke trying to delay Kitty from getting any crazy thoughts into her head."

"Like…?"

Was she getting delusional from all the sweet, flowery perfumes and strong, musky colognes circulating the small gym, or was he actually curious about what Kitty had planned?

"Well, ya know Kitt," she replied flippantly, "She lahkes her charity cases. 'Specially the ones who haven't found themselves a good boyfriend yet." After dropping that not-so-shocking bomb, she focused on what would go better with her sweets; Sprite or Dr. Pepper? If there was one thing she could've ever been awarded for, she had to be the best at avoiding the gazes of… well, anyone.

When she did work up the courage to glance up at her teammate, his eyebrows were knitted close together, and she had the suspicion he was confused. It was a cute look for Scott.

Immediately, she looked back down at the snack table. _He sorta looks cute confused… _she hadn't thought something like that in over a year! What the hell?! She needed to get away before she thought or (God forbid) did anything else that might call into question any previous 'feelings'.

Before she could move, however, Scott asked, "Wait, you aren't… I always figured, after that whole thing with Mystique, you and Gambit…" The horror-stricken look must have been more obvious than Rogue had thought, because Scott backtracked, still just as confused as moments before. "You mean, you and Remy… You haven't been…"

"Oh, God, no!" Rogue exclaimed, a little louder than she had intended. Lowering her voice, she continued, "Scott, Remy LaBeau and Ah are as far apart as two people can get. Lahght-years, if you will. He's a playa, and Ah'm… well, Ah'm just me. We could neva stay tagetha for very long. Our personalities would clash too easily. Besides," she dropped her voice even lower. "Ah really don't see what the otha girls see in him. The red and black eyes…" she trailed off, shuddering.

He smiled, and she felt her body relaxing. At one point, Rogue _had_ a crush on Remy, shortly after she got over the sting of Scott's crush on Jean. Love did work in mysterious ways.

But that wasn't the point. Rogue could tell Scott's over-protective, brotherly tendencies were already beginning to rear their ugly heads, and they had just started talking about Gambit. She wasn't going to make things worse by bringing up a forgotten fixation on the former thief. Scott would probably do something drastic like giving Remy a talking to about respecting those of the opposite sex.

Scott chuckled, snagging a heart-shaped muffin. He tore off half the muffin in one bite. She would've laughed, but as she stared at the intact half, her smile stopped abruptly. The heart was torn in half. Was this some sort of sign? Granted, it was a cryptic, strange, and absurdly creepy sign, but still. Weren't those guys who always claimed to see God or other religious figures saying there were signs that people needed to open their eyes to?

Well, she wasn't going to start now, so she just decided to chalk it up to remaining cautious. She smiled at Scott, mumbled a quick good-bye, and stole out of there as swiftly as possible, heading for Kitty.

It didn't take long to find Kitty, she just needed to look for her favorite half-brother. He was sure to be hanging around Kitty. The crush was cute, but Rogue was beginning to worry the little blue fuzzball was going to get himself hurt if he continued to fall for the younger girl. Of course, now was not the time to fret over Kurt. He was a big boy. He could handle his dilemma on his own.

Before she could properly reach Kitty and her gaggle of gal pals, the skinny brunette pushed through the crowd and grabbed Rogue's forearm, dragging her away from the masses of teenage bodies.

"Do you think Scott likes someone?"

Rogue yanked her arm out of Kitty's viselike grip, glaring at her short roomie. _That_ was the big deal Kitty needed to drag her all the way across the gym for?! She had only asked the question about half a dozen or so times in the past three days or so. So what if Scott liked Jean- wasn't this already known by virtually everyone in the Professor's mansion?

"Ah don't know, Kitty, who do _you_ think he lahkes?" This was getting to the point of total exasperation. If there was something she needed to say, she needed to say it now. Rogue was sick and tired of beating around the bush. It was too exhausting.

"I don't know," Kitty said, looking away, "But I think it's someone different than him. You know, a girl with more energy and with more fun. Maybe a different age, too." This threw Rogue. Jean and Scott were in the same class- besides, she was just as strict as he was. Granted, Jean _could_ be more fun than Scott at times, but she could never be considered 'different' than Scott. They were best friends, and had more in common than most of the teens at Xavier's mansion.

Finally, it hit Rogue. "What? Do you think he lahkes _you_, Kitt?" It would make sense. Kitty was much younger than Scott, by about three years. She was also one of the peppiest and happiest people Rogue knew, and was constantly joking around or otherwise having fun. They couldn't be more different I they tried!

"Omigod…!" Kitty threw her hands in the air, spun around, then spun back around to face Rogue again. "You are so…ugh!" She shook her fists, then threw her head back, as if to ask God for some kind of assistance.

It took a few minutes, but when she finally calmed down, she snapped through gritted teeth, "Rogue, I think he likes _you_."

Without intending to, her eyes flew to the aforementioned dance chaperone. He seemed to be chatting with a senior English teacher. She wasn't entirely sure (the glasses were deceiving), but did he just glance back at her? No. Impossible. Kitty was just screwing with her.

Still… Why wasn't she more surprised? Somewhere, in the back of her mind, this made perfect sense. For the past few weeks, she had been getting inklings of Scott's possible crush, but she blew it off as her mind playing tricks, or her once-dead crush resurfacing. Both reasons were more than enough for Rogue to hide any suspicions.

Of course, none of this could hide the indescribable churning sensation in her abdomen. Never before had she felt so worked up over… anyone. Then again, at sixteen, she had never really experienced the uncomfortable awareness that followed learning of someone's crush on you, and being unable to do anything about it. Not being able to touch anyone had its perks.

She was distracted by Scott making his way over towards them. He stopped a few feet away, and seemed to be surveying the crowd. If Rogue's stomach was churning before, it was like being in a washing machine now. She somehow managed to wrench her eyes away from the X-men's undeniable leader and look back at Kitty. Sensing something was up, Kitty turned around, spied Scott, and immediately whipped back around to face Rogue again. The only difference from before and after was her naturally round eyes now resembled dinner plates.

Rogue was done. This was getting to be a little too crazy for her. She needed a breath of fresh air- or, at the very least, the next best thing. It was now her turn to grab Kitty by the wrist and drag her away.

She walked through the gym's back door, avoiding having to walk past Scott in the process. Once out of the room, she continued to pull Kitty into the bathroom. This wasn't safe enough. She opened all the stall doors, until she was positive no one else was in the room.

"What did Ah do to deserve this?!" she looked heavenward, slumping against the girls' bathroom.

"Umm, Rogue, I don't know about, like, most people, I'm pretty sure, like, consulting the ceiling isn't going to work."

Rogue sent Kitty her best smoldering death-glare, and turned to look back up at the ceiling. She put the heels of her hands over her eyes, trying to massage away the growing throbbing sensation behind her eyeballs. Of course, when she lifted her arms away from her stomach, the rolling feeling doubled and a wave of nausea passed over her body.

As quickly as humanly possible, she clutched her stomach, and bent over, mentally cursing the heavens. If this was how she was going to feel each day, thinking about Scott possibly liking… Oh, dear Lord, there was the second wave of nausea…

Why couldn't her life ever be simple?

"Umm… Are you, like, okay?"

"Do Ah _look_ lahke Ah'm okay, Kitty?" Rogue hadn't meant to sound harsh. "Sorry, Kitt… It's just- stuff lahke this don't happen to people lahke me. Maybe you, and definitely Jean, but not me." She glanced at her roommate and teammate, then went back to staring at the white tile.

"What are you, like, talking about?"

Rogue tried to straighten up, but only got about halfway. She realized how ridiculous she must have looked, and a corner of her mouth turned into a wry smile. "Haven't ya noticed, Kitt? Ah'm the girl people tell their romantic difficulties to. Not the one that these damned difficulties happen to. It just don't work that way."

Kitty stared pointedly at her friend. "Well," she said, "Unless I'm, like, wrong or something- which I'm about 95 sure I'm not- I'm pretty sure it _is_, like, working this way. Why else would Scott have a crush on you?!"

Rogue straightened up, grimacing openly. "Can we _please_ not talk about Scott havin' a crush on me? Ah mean, you don' even know if it's definitely true! What's the point in freakin' me out if it turns out you're wrong?" _Not to mention, getting my hopes up over nothing_, she thought. While she would only admit it to herself, it was the truth. Rogue was a girl who hid herself from everyone, to protect others from herself. The idea of a guy still having a crush on her despite that- and a guy she used to have a crush on, to boot- was almost too good to be true.

Kitty scoffed, and walked over to Rogue until they were face-to-face. She grabbed her friend by the shoulders, and spoke clearly, as though talking to a small child. "Rogue, I know stuff like this. I'm pretty good at figuring out who likes who. And Scott likes _you_. I just don't, y'know, have his word for it yet. But I _am_ almost completely positive he does. I just have to do some digging first."(3)

Rogue broke away. "No! No digging!" She began to pace in the small quarters of the bathroom. There was only one solution, and it was going to be a bitch for Rogue to suck it up and do it. "Ah have a plan, but it'll be a pain in the ass for me to get done." She looked Kitty square in the eyes. "Ah'm gonna-"

A loud group of giggles interrupted the girls' conversation, and they whipped around to see Amara, Tabitha, and a few other girls laughing hysterically over God knew what. They were dead silent as the group did whatever business need be done, added make-up, and left laughing just as hard as when they entered.

Once the girls had left the room, and the bathroom door had swung shut, Rogue began again. "Ah'm gonna ask him mahself." In order to avoid Kitty's dubious reaction to her statement, Rogue eyed herself in one of the bathroom mirrors. Because Kitty had told her last-minute about going to the school's dance, she hadn't had much time to put on her usual make-up. True, she had managed to squeeze in enough time to throw on her typical purple eyeshadow, but her mouth was only covered in a fine sheen of lipgloss. That, combined with her only pair of blue jeans, and a dark purple turtleneck and black gloves, she almost looked like a regular teen.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kitty said, holding up her hands. "And how do you, like, suggest you're going to ask him yourself?"

Rogue stared at her reflection, her determination hardening. "Ah'm gonna talk to him," she repeated, "And Ah'll ask him as casually as ever…" The small smile on her face flickered temporarily. "If mah woman's intuition is goin' bonkers, or does he lahke me… as more than a friend." It was a little rough around the edges, but with some tweaking, she might be able to ask it Scott.

"Wait, are you gonna, like, say this face to face?" Kitty looked at her friend skeptically. "Maybe you should, like, write him a note, or something." She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her skeptical look. Whether she admitted it to Rogue or not, she cared about her untouchable friend, and didn't want her to get hurt.

"Kitt, Ah couldn't wrahte him a note, it's just not fair. Sides," Rogue stared down at the white porcelain sink in front of her, sheepishly, "I wouldn't know whether or not he'd be tellin' me the truth." Placing her hands gingerly on the sink, she stared at her chipped black nail polish, and imagined how the conversation with Scott might go. She realized the likelihood of Scott actually having a crush on her, and she knew better than getting her hopes up.

It would be best if she didn't think about his response. That way, she couldn't be disappointed, but she certainly couldn't be expectant. Looking up yet again, she stared at her reflection. Maybe, if she dressed differently, like she did today, she might have enough courage to actually ask him. Finally, she told the reflection, more for herself than Kitty, "Ah'm tellin' him tomorrow. Ah don't know when, but Ah'm tellin' him tomorrow."

$4$

Yes, I _am_ a horrible über-bitch, for leaving all of my faithful readers (that's you guys) hanging. Why, you may ask? Well, mostly, because I don't know the ending yet. They always say art imitates life (or is it the other way around? Doesn't matter), and, right now, this life hasn't quite worked up the nerve to ask the right questions and discover the right answers.

(1) I can't remember the actual ages of the X-kids (it's been so freakin' long since I've seen the show), but I know Scott was at least a year older, and it sounded about right that he was a junior at the time and she was a sophomore.

(2) Oh, God, anyone who's ever had a crush can understand that. How many times have you gotten a crush on someone, found the crush liked someone else, and as a result, constantly compared yourself the other person? How agonizing.

(3) Whenever a friend suspects someone likes you, here's a really good tip I've learned: _never_ let them 'dig around' and find whether or not it's true. In the long run, it's just simpler to do the deed yourself. Plus, you feel like less of a scumbag if gets around that he/she likes you and you knew about it all along and never said anything. 'Least, that's how I see it.

I want a big shout-out to be given to my eternal savior, **ClaudiaR**, my beta. Well, and the people that inspired this story, but they aren't as important. ;)

Now, press that beautiful bluish-purple button!


	2. The Mystery of the Missing Meat

Sorry this took so freakin' long. Yeah, it took longer for inspiration to hit than me to work up courage to say… well, anything. And no, nothing happened.

However, Rogue got a better deal than me. :)

I'm not sure if I've replied to all your reviews (it's been so long), but in any case, I'd like to thank **Southern Loner**, **araym**, **Rogue21493**, **anime09**, and **Harpiebird** for their reviews.

And (currently) this had yet to be beta'd by my best beta ever (well, really- my only beta) **ClaudiaR**. It'll be beta'd eventually- I just want to post this stupid thing already. So bear the possible grammar problems and inconsistencies- I'll get them fixed soon.

$4$

"So, did you tell him yet?"

Rogue groaned, and covered her head with the first pillow she could grab on her bed. She didn't want to deal with Kitty's harping. Because, the truth was, it had been a week. And she still hadn't said a thing. Every time she tried to ask him the truth, she would either chicken out or something would manage to go wrong that prevented her from asking him.

She planned on asking him on Sunday, because that way, she'd have the chance of avoiding him Monday through Friday during the day, courtesy of school, and during the night he'd miss her because he'd be too busy with the newbies after school to get a chance to talk to her. But that didn't work. Saturday, he'd somehow manage to come down with some 24-hour bug and was recuperating on Sunday in order to get back to his normal self.

She decided to then try for Tuesday, instead. And chickened out. She had the perfect chance to talk to him before she had to leave for school, but stalled until Jean walked over to talk to him, ruining her chance.

She tried _again_ on Thursday, but this time it was one of the new X-kids, Rahne, who got in her way. The little teen needed someone to help her with her English homework, and, as Rogue was the perfect person to ask for the kind of job (she was planning on majoring in English, once getting into college), she spent two hours with the kid dissecting _The Animal Farm_. (1)

Now it was Friday. _Exactly_ one week since Kitty had dropped the C-bomb. Rogue didn't know what to do. She wasn't- she couldn't handle this. This constant worry, pitching in her stomach, the guilt creeping in. And Kitty hanging around, asking if anything happened, offering her own form of advice, it was all too much for Rogue to handle right now. She needed a break. She needed to get the hell out.

"Ah'll talk to ya later, Kit," she muttered apologetically, sitting up from her position on her bed and walking out of their room. In her rush to leave, she'd missed Kitty's concerned, hurt look as she watched her friend stride out.

Rogue had no idea where to go. Leaving the mansion was out of the question- Thursday night, the same night Rahne had asked for help, Bayville had been hit with their first snowstorm all season. The snow was reported to be about eight inches high, and it was still falling. No matter _how_ badly Rogue wanted to leave, she was not facing those cold, harsh winds. She grew up down South. The winter had never been her favorite season for a reason.

So, instead, she trudged down the stairs, only to face a sight for sore eyes, draped across the mansion's plush black leather couch.

"What in the name of all things good happened to you?"

Scott groaned, shifting so the slab of steak he held in his hand better covered his jaw. With his other hand, he waved a short hello to Rogue. "You don't want to know. All I can say is I just managed to prove that old saying, 'No good deed goes unpunished.'"

Almost involuntarily, Rogue's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "That so?" she asked, and gingerly sat down on the arm of the chair closest to his head. She looked down, smirking a little, and muttered, "Y'know, Ah heard that it can take a li'l time to sort out everybody's good deeds. Sometimes you gotta just wait a li'l while before God gets the chance to pay you back for your… uh, 'deeds'." It was then that she felt a sisterly tug in her depths of her heart. It was different sensation than the brotherly closeness she found in Kurt, but just as important.

"Yeah, well, what happens when that 'deed' involves taking a swing at a beefed-up quarterback?" He mumbled, turning over the steak. Before he could put it back on his jaw, her gloved hand stopped him short.

"And wha'd you do somethin' lahke that?" Even with his near-opaque red shades on, she knew he was avoiding his gaze. The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. Rolling her eyes, she got up and sat near his elbow, so she could properly face him. "Oh, sugah, you didn'," she almost groaned, her accent thickening with sympathy. "He said somethin' about someone, an' you just _had_ to do the rahgt thing and stand up for the underdog." She let go of his wrist, but took the steak in her own hands. "Sweetie, ya gotta stop this. Ah realize it's called a 'Hero' complex for a reason, but if ya keep it up, it's gonna be the death a' you."

"Someone needed to set him straight," Scott answered, a little harshly than he needed to. He was trying to get her to drop the subject, for her to remember he was the leader, and she was the quiet (if dark and brooding) best friend.

It was then that Rogue realized that, in some small, ironic way, Kitty was right. The 'relationship' between Rogue and Scott _had_ changed. But not in the way Kitty had expected. Rogue was older now. Maybe not physically, but certainly mentally. She had developed from the Goth-y, angry sophomore who barely trusted anyone to a quieter, much more accepting junior. And somehow, she had a feeling Scott realized that, too.

"Scott, I get that you're our big, strong, leader. But ya can't do this forever. It's awhrahgt yer just doin' this as a random, occasional thing. People don't tend ta lahke it when someone goes out a' there way to be the hero _every_time. There's nothin' wrong if you happen to be there in the rahgt place at the rahgt time. But makin' a job outta it? No, people don't lahke that."

Gently, she pressed the now near-lukewarm steak to his jaw, and continued on her little speech in a softer voice. "Ya see, Ah agree with the Prof.'s opinion that people fear what they can't undastand. But Ah also think it may jus' be somethin' else." She paused. Rogue had never actually voiced this thought out loud. He could laugh and go to the kitchen and find some other cold produce, or… "Ah believe in somethin' called politics." She smiled wryly. "Ah realize it ain't nothing new, but Ah also believe that _everyone_ practices politics, whether they know it or not. 'Cuz the only reason people are awhraght with you savin' the day once or twice is that they feel lahke, well, 'if Ah'd been there, Ah'd've the same thing'. But, when ya make a _career_ outta it, people feel differently. They feel lahke yer rubbing it in their faces that yer always there to protect everyone. They feel threatened. It's a fun combination a' guilt an' jealousy that'll turn yer friends inta' yer enemies. And we don't need any more enemies than we already got."

She bit her lip, staring at her boot-cloaked feet. "Rogue, I don't know if I just noticed it now or if it's been there the entire time and I'm just paying attention now, but you can be pretty wise when you want to." She stared at him out of the corner of her eye. Her mouth curled into a half-smile as she shrugged casually.

"Nah. Just comes in li'l bursts, now an' again. Helps that Ah've already got a buncha people and their memories in mah head. Well, that, an' reading."

Scott laughed. "Yeah," he agreed, "You could be a sponsor for one of those reading programs." She chuckled in agreement.

"Yeah, Ah can see it now: 'Hey, kids, all you need is mutant powers lahke mine, and you can memorize all the books you want without turnin' a single page.'" She smiled a little wider. "Their parents would _love_ me."

"This seems to happen to us pretty often," Scott muttered with a smile. "The whole, running into each other for some reason or another, and getting to know each other better in the process?"(2) His explanation made her think. This _had_ been happening pretty often in the past few months. They had gotten closer throughout the short, random moments shared between work, classes, and their 'extracurricular' activities.

She nodded. One day, when this was all in the past and Rogue had (hopefully) gotten a hold on her powers and (less likely) maybe even married off, she could finally tell Scott about what Kitty had thought all those years ago. Maybe even mention her previous crush on him nearly a year ago- as if he didn't already know.

"Ah'd better go now- Kit's prolly freakin' out wonderin' where in the hell Ah've gone off to." She stood up, stretching her legs a little in the process. There was an awkward moment where she wasn't sure what to do. In the end, she smiled a little, pressed a light kiss to her two fingers, and pressed those fingers to his cheek. "Feel better, hero."

It wasn't until she reached the stairs that she heard his response: "You, too, Goth girl."

And when she opened the door, facing Kitty, she told the younger girl with a half-smile, "Kit, Ah may not have asked the question, but Ah'm pretty sure Ah got an answer."

$4$

"I just don't understand, Charles," shaking her head, Ororro explained to the Professor and Logan, "I defrosted the steak ffor us to eat tonight, and I left it on the counter for a few minutes to double-check that all of my plants had enough water. I was gone for only a few minutes, and I when I came back to the kitchen, the steak was gone."

Logan smirked. "Maybe we should call Sherlock Holmes. Sure he'd know what happened to the damned steak."

$4$

1.) Ever read the _The Animal Farm_ by George Orwell? No? Read it. I know a lot of people who disliked the book, but if you like history, and know a little about Russia and communism/Marxism, this is the book for you.

2.) Yes, I know. This originally started out as all random one-shots unto themselves, but it's come to the point where I've written so many there _has_ to be some sort of storyline. I can tell you right now it's vague and not at all to the point, but I gotta say, all of them are some how connected. Even the Kurtty one I've finished about a few months ago. When I'm done, (and I've written my next one-shot) I'll post my list of all my stories in chronological order.

I'm not sure what's coming next, but there's about a 4 out of 5 chance that I'm doing something again with Jean. There also might be something about Rogue telling Scott about her previous crush. But I'm not promising anything. ;)


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